Day 17: Disneyland

Here we go . . . our first full day in the parks!  One of the main reasons I like to stay at the Disney hotels is for the Magic Morning hours that allow hotel guest an early entry time to the parks.  You would be amazed at how many rides we can knock off before the crowds arrive.  We were so working that Fast Pass system and riding along the way too.  Of course we made a mad dash for Space Mountain only to find it closed!  Seriously?  Oh well we continued to ride and check back . . . it opened, we rode . . .

 

. . . we grabbed a Fast Pass, and were off to the next ride.  We literally covered the rides in the park we wanted to ride by lunch time!  Colin wanted to ride Splash Mountain over in Critter Country so off we went.  A little secret I learned last visit was there is a line for single riders (most of the time you enter through the exit).  If you don't mind splitting up you can ride some of the popular rides rather quickly.  Since I didn't want to get soaked and walk around, this is the best option for us.  The regular line wait was almost an hour but Colin was on in less than 5 minutes in the single rider line.  He usually has a story to tell about the people he rode with . . .

. . . this time was no different.  He ended up with a bunch of teenagers that screamed but was thrilled to be in the front!

One thing I have noticed around the park is the option for healthy snacks . . . Colin almost flipped when he saw a wedge of fresh watermelon for sale!  I told him no, but as he rode his last ride of the morning before lunch; I bought him one and me some fresh pineapple too!  We grabbed lunch at the Hungry Bear Restaurant which was yummy!  Colin went with a hamburger while I had a fried green tomato sandwich with sweet potato fries; yummy and was I stuffed full too!  Thankfully the fruit sort of balanced out the fatty stuff, LOL.  It was back to the pool to swim and relax for the afternoon.

We had an awesome time at the pool . . . I may or may not have taken a nap; I don't remember.  We made a quick change and headed out to Disneyland for the evening.  We did a walk through the California Adventure park . . . it was a long walk and someone was hungry . . .

. . . hard to say no to a Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich and guess who we ran into?

All rest must come to an end so back to park hopping and fireworks.  We rode a lot of rides during one of the big shows that evening.  It was crazy crowded but most of the rides were short and could walk right on which was a win for us!  We did stick around for the fireworks and it was crazy crowded but really nice too!  I was too lazy to carry the big camera so Colin took this . . .

Favorite ride today:  (tie) Space Mountain and California Screamin'
Of course I liked a little friendly competition on the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters . . .

. . . too bad I got smoked by a 9 year old!